U.S. retailers probably had decent showing in April

Sales of U.S. retail stores probably rose again in April, but not at March’s torrid pace.

Economists polled by MarketWatch predict sales climbed 0.4% last month after a 1.1% gain in March. The spike in March reflected the return of warmer weather after an especially cold winter kept many Americans inside.

In April, auto dealers offered heavy discounts and sold slightly fewer cars and that could suppress the headline number. Auto purchases account for about 25% of overall retail sales. Spending in other categories, however, appeared to be fairly steady.

Retail sales are a good indicator of how the economy is doing. They account for about one-third of what consumers spend and rise sharply when U.S. growth accelerates. While sales have slowed in each of the past two years, economists expect the recent rebound in hiring and economic growth to encourage consumers to spend a bit more.

The retail report will be issued Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Also Tuesday, the government will release updates on the cost of imports in April and business inventories in March. Import prices are seen dropping 0.1% while inventories could rise 0.5%.